Two Koreas agree to high-level talks in Seoul

Pyongyang will send a senior delegation to Seoul after the two Koreas agreed to hold government-level meetings this week, the first high-level dialogue between the rival neighbors in years.

After lengthy negotiations between North and South Korean officials in the truce village of Panmunjom at the border, the two sides agreed to hold ministerial talks in Seoul Wednesday, aimed at rebuilding trust following months of tensions and threats of nuclear war.

The Unification Ministry in Seoul said the two sides had reached a partial understanding on outstanding issues, such as the jointly-run Kaesong industrial complex. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the meeting would focus on restoring suspended commercial links.

Both sides have also agreed on other “technical and administrative issues, such as the venue, date, size of the delegation, period of trip and transportation route,” unification ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk said.

The Panmunjom talks were the first government contact between the two Koreas in years as relations deteriorated during Lee Myung-bak’s administration, reports Korea JoongAng Daily.

North Korea proposed to hold formal talks with South Korea following blistering tensions on the Korean peninsula.